Our annual Service in Preparation for Christmas, scheduled to take place shortly after the second national lockdown ended, was sadly but inevitably not able to take place as usual in the 欧美自拍鈥檚 College Chapel this year. Our response once again demonstrated the school鈥檚 extraordinary ability to combine creative, resourceful and collaborative forces to put together an online Virtual Service in Presentation for Christmas, whose preparations and process afforded the meaningful learning experiences our pupils are accustomed to and whose result could be enjoyed by family and friends not just in Cambridge but all over the world.
With the school鈥檚 choirs lying dormant in the first half of the Michaelmas term, new year group choirs were set up and many children enthusiastically put themselves forward for a project which would be rather different from usual. Instead of our usual sequence of rehearsals in school and College, we had limited rehearsal time in school and before recording started in front of a green screen which had been erected in the Hinsley Hall at Senior House. The video footage was subsequently superimposed onto photos of the College Chapel and the recorded service appeared as if coming directly from the Chapel.
The 12 carols offered a wide selection of music performed beautifully by children in year group choirs from Year 4 up to Year 8. The College Choir kindly provided performances of three carols recorded as part of their Advent Carol Services鈥 weekend. The 11 readings, a range of poems and lessons, were delivered by our Year 8 children. The readers excelled themselves and each one read beautifully to present the Christmas story.
Before and after the services, a programme of organ music by J S Bach was played by Senior House pupils: Lorenzo Granado and Anna Tomkinson (both Year 7), Angus Crichton-Stuart (Year 6) and Gabriel Gritten and Kevin Ke (both Year 5). Director of Music, Mr Simon Kirk, explained, 鈥淚t is truly remarkable that these five young organists, of whom two only started their lessons in September, were able to put together such a programme and to perform it to such a high standard; many senior schools would have been proud of this offering. As for the choirs, the children engaged wonderfully, with great generosity and confidence, while rehearsing and recording their contributions. We hope that this service will be something for them and their families to treasure at this challenging time and for years to come.鈥
The retiring collection was taken in aid of:
The Red Hen Project
The is a small local charity working with five primary schools in North Cambridge. We support children and their families to overcome barriers to learning and provide a link between home and school. Our Red Hen family workers work one-to-one with children and families in their home, at school, and in the community. The Red Hen Project also runs a range of outreach group activities: parenting courses, coffee morning, drop-ins, workshops, family activities, trips and volunteer opportunities.
A copy of the Order of Service is available to download.